Unpleasantness Continues on Pleasant Street

We are encouraged by the latest proposal to expand the Truman National Historic Landmark District along Pleasant Street. And we appreciated attempts to revitalize Pleasant Street with the award-winning Midtown / Truman Road Corridor Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. These important blocks link the Truman Neighborhood and Square area with McCoy Park and the front steps of the Truman Library. Unfortunately, this blog has reported about arson, abandon & boarded up homes, an abandon school building contaminated with mold, storm water problems, and more recently the rape of an 8-year-old child, all within a few blocks on this street ironically labeled as “Pleasant.” An additional incident to report actually occurred last year at 527/529 N. Pleasant. The duplex mysteriously exploded in the middle of the night. The building has sat vacant, boarded up, and tagged “dangerous” since. Then, just a few weeks ago, the danger actually became evident in the form of a fire. Imagine trying to sell a home or getting an appraisal for a refinance of your home near this duplex. Would you consider investing in this block and moving your family here? As Independence goes through the motions of neighborhood revitalization, we need to realize that current situations on Pleasant Street are considered blight to any neighborhood. When these situations affect one of the nation’s most important residential neighborhoods, it should be considered a national disgrace. As with 1306 W. Maple, these properties seem insignificant by themselves, but within the context of a neighborhood, they can drag down an entire block and beyond. Investments in neighborhood revitalization and historic preservation pay back dividends in the city budgets of tourism, fire, police, and health departments while preserving the tax base and public revenues. And as City Hall attempts to quietly funnel millions of dollars to developers in the Little Blue Valley, our historic neighborhoods scream loud for assistance.